The next space age.

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Remarks to the National Space Symposium, Colorado Springs, Colo., March 31, 2009

Thank you, Elliot, for the kind introduction. What a great opening ceremony you held last evening--a real celebration of achievement.

I can't tell you how proud I am to be with you this morning representing 40,000 men and women of Air Force Space Command. You saw a number of Airmen in the video a couple of minutes ago. Those Airmen you saw were doing a number of important things for the United States of America--securing, operating, and maintaining our combat-ready ICSM force, and their dedication, along with the rest of the nuclear enterprise that forms the basis of the Nation's deterrent. That's an important mission for us and, as I tell our people every day, perfection is the standard.

We also saw Airmen in that video who conduct satellite, space launch and other space operations. This command wields capabilities that enable our Joint commanders to know more about their adversaries, to see the battlefield more clearly, and to strike more quickly and precisely than ever before. Space capabilities provide intelligence that would otherwise be lost, warning that would otherwise be undetected, and communications that would otherwise be impossible.

Space is no longer just the high ground, it is an integral part of the Joint fight. Today, space capabilities are embedded in a complex of systems that serve forces and commanders at every level and that span the spectrum of diplomatic, informational, military, and economic activities. And they do this from peace through crisis and war. Today, in Air Force Space Command, we are clearly active participants in the Joint fight that we are waging in overseas contingency operations. The capabilities we present have shaped the American way of warfare.

You also saw other Airmen in the video operate in cyberspace, with all the opportunities and challenges that suggests, and who will soon pick up lead command responsibility for United States Air Force cyberspace activities.

We're really excited about what is happening at Air Force Space Command. I think most of you know that we made some decisions in this Air Force that have directly impacted the command. For example, we are moving the ICBM force out of Air Force Space Command and into a command that we are standing up called Air Force Global Strike Command. We are also moving lead command responsibilities for cyberspace into Air Force Space Command and standing up an operational command for cyberspace within Air Force Space Command.

These are exciting times for sure. We're taking decisive steps to position resources and people to meet the challenges that America will encounter in the vital domains of space and cyberspace.

I'm reminded that newsman David Brinkley once remarked that he was worried that we may be approaching the point where we have more people willing to make speeches than we have people willing to listen to them. I hope that's not the case this morning. In fact, a few minutes before I came in here, (...) someone said, "Gee, I hope the speaker is good this morning," and I said, "I hope so, too!" So we'll see.

I need to thank the Space Foundation once again for bringing us together here in Colorado Springs to discuss the important issues we have in the National Space Enterprise. …

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